Mother’s Day eReader Sales: No Big Spike for Off-Brands

If you are not a Kindle, Nook, Sony Reader or iPad, Mother’s Day may not have seen the lift-off in eReader sales you were hoping for.
One discount eReader supplier said sales were up from last year, but “nothing astounding. Everybody’s anticipating a big fourth quarter. Everyone was hoping Mother’s Day would be a big time for eReaders and it was mediocre.” He added, “I still think we’re in a recession. People are careful with their disposable dollars. We have to wait for the economy to improve a bit.”
Retailer Electronic Express, Nashville, TN concurred: eReaders sales didn’t get that Mother’s Day boost although the store expects sales of the category to heat up later in the year.
Nebraska Furniture Mart, Omaha, NE said sales of Sony eReaders were up substantially but noted that regional retailers are shut out of other top brands. “I can’t buy the Kindle. I don’t have the Nook, and I can’t buy the iPad. If you look at the Nook and the Kindle, that’s a pretty high percentage of the business,” said Mark Shaw DMM electronics at NFM. Consumers aren’t interested in the lesser known brands at this point, he added. Note: Kindle + Sony market share in 2009 was 95 percent according to Forrester Research.
Ectaco admits it has been an uphill climb so far but says the sales will be there for Christmas. The company sold 9,000 units of its JetBook Lite in the fourth quarter last year and expects to sell a lot more over Christmas this year. The JetBook Lite will also become available on BestBuy.com (website only) in about two weeks. Greg Stetson product manager admitted that for now, retailers are still skittish about picking up eReaders. “They are very nervous to try it out and see how it does.” But he notes, “This is not a fad. California just passed a law that by 2020 all textbooks have to be available in electronic format. It’s technology. How much longer are we going to read everything on paperback?”
Yet another factor may be that the iPad knocked some wind out of eReader sales in April and May say analysts at Insight Media and the Yankee Group. Insight Media notes that netbook growth was slow in Q2 and some blame the iPad, which sold one million units in its first 28 days. “That must leave a mark on EBR (electronic book reader) sales,” said analyst Norbert Hildebrand.
Dmitriy Molchanov, analyst at the Yankee Group notes that eReaders just may not be the ideal Mother’s Day gift. He says eReader sales are still on track to hit six million unit sales this year.
–Amy Gilroy
Source: CEoutlook
Photo: Off-brand eReaders are fighting to gain a share in Kindle-dominated market.